La Salle Debain

John Goerzen professes not to understand the apparent inconsistencies in the Presidents positions on life issues. While I can't speak for him, I am as near to a "typical Republican" as you are likely to get around these parts and although I'm busy with other things I feel compelled to explain how they are in fact consistent.

The foundation is a belief in the innate dignity and right to life of Man simply by virtue of being a member of the human species. Therefore the default position in any case should be to protect against the unnecessary taking of life whenever there is a choice in the matter. Therefore abortion is wrong precisely it is as its defenders say a "choice." Stem cell research is also wrong on these grounds but as a clump of cells is not clearly a human being you can agree to disagree on that. Those who do think it is wrong should not be forced to participate in murder which is why the government is against Federal funding of embryonic stem cell research not against the practice altogether. (Also remember there are other sources of stem cells.)

The innate dignity of a person can be made forfeit by an act of will on the part of that person. Thus a murderer has no right to life, by his personal actions he has surrendered it. If fetuses started leaping out of vaginas and attacking people, they would forfeit their right to life too but they don't.

What John conspicuously fails to mention concerning the 30,000 Iraq civilian deaths is how they died and who killed them. In the vast majority of the cases it is at the hands of those who putatively were on their own side. So how is Bush or America morally culpable? In the few cases where Americans have deliberately caused civilian deaths, they have been punished for it. But where is the outrage when terrorists do not wear uniforms and deliberately hide amongst civilians and in religious sites? (May I note that such behavior is against the Geneva convention and UN resolutions though I'm aware such things only apply to Israel.) It is the Baath party and Al-Qaeda have right to life issues concerning the war in Iraq not the US.

You can disagree with any of these positions--even from a conservative or Republican point of view but my point is they are consistent. And I daresay being easier to understand, they resonate more strongly with the electorate than the muddled messages of the Democrats.

Hall and Oates in '08!